manojEVproject: March 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

electric cars to hit malaysian roads by june??? really?

Saturday March 19, 2011

Electric cars to hit the roads by June

By SYED AZHAR
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
KOTA BARU: Electric cars will be hitting the roads by June after legal standardisation of the vehicles is completed.
Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said the Transport Min-istry was drawing up laws to enable 10 appointed companies to start producing the cars.
“We are now in the final stage of formulating the laws on the use of such cars on Malaysian roads according to the United Nations Economic Commissions for Africa standards pertaining to electric cars.(what is this standard? and why africa??
“We first have to get down to basics, where car manufacturers must meet specifications formulated like the type of battery, maximum speed and the braking system,” he said yesterday after opening the Malaysian Driving Institute Association annual general meeting and dialogue session.
Solah also said Parliament passed an amendment to the Road Transport Act 1987 last year to accommodate the electric cars in the Act, whereby only the chassis numbers of the electric cars need to be registered at JPJ.

He also said the ministry was working out other details on how to convert electric power to horsepower and the amount of road tax. (such a big deal lah!)

Earlier in his speech, Solah said the department needed the cooperation of driving institutes to self-regulate when handling new driving students.
He said the move will help create competition among the institutes to produce competent new drivers.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Govt may ban electric bicycles

The Star Online > Nation

Thursday March 10, 2011

Govt may ban electric bicycles

By LESTER KONG
lester@thestar.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: Electric bicycles may be taken off the road if the Cabinet accepts a recommendation from the Transport Ministry.

Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said he will be presenting a paper during Friday’s Cabinet meeting to recommend disallowing electric bicycles, citing safety reasons.

He said continuing to allow electric bicycles, which have battery-powered motors, could result in a higher risk of injury or death.

“Electric bicycles do not meet the performance specifications of motorcycles.

“It is more than a bicycle but less than a motorcycle,” he told The Star on Tuesday.

While Kong acknowledged that electric bicycles were good for the environment, he stressed that the higher risk of death and injury from collision did not warrant their usage.

“If you want to talk about being environmentally-friendly, using a normal bicycle is still the best,” he pointed out.

He added that an electric bicycle could not be classified as an electric motorcycle.

“Anyone can use it as there are no restrictions on who can use a bicycle,” he said.

“There is no need to register an electric bicycle or obtain a driving licence, road tax, insurance or registration number.

“Any young child will be able to use the electric bicycle without a crash helmet and that means a much higher risk of accidents,” he cautioned.

Kong said the paper to be presented to the Cabinet would reveal all the facts involving electric bicycles.

Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said in a statement that electric bicycles currently being sold were designed to travel more than 40km per hour.

“According to road safety studies, bicycles that move at more than 20km per hour pose a much higher risk of injury to pedestrians, especially when both share the same lane,” he said.

Solah added that facilities for cyclists like special lanes were currently limited to residential and recreational parks.

“Cyclists, who use routes other than designated ones, will be exposed to the risk of traffic accidents and contribute to the overall number of accidents,” he cautioned.